Sara Hagerman
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This professional is available for new clients.
This professional is available for new clients.
About me
Welcome
I am a Counselling Psychologist, as well as a registered psychotherapist/counsellor, with many years of experience in the NHS, universities and schools, cancer and mental health charities, youth homelessness and in refugee support.
I believe that therapy allows you to take a more active role in understanding and experiencing your emotions. When we are not aware of our emotions or ideas, it can mean we act out certain behaviours – or experience certain feelings - without knowing why. And while we might be able to tolerate this for some time – perhaps even for a long time - I believe there is a difference between surviving and living.
Developing a closer – or less mysterious - relationship with ourselves can allow us to go beyond living life passively and begin to really experience it.
I find that many of us underestimate the effect that living can have on us. Our upbringings, environment, the pressures of society – these things can all accumulate and make it difficult for us to understand who we are, or be at peace with how we feel.
My therapy is underpinned by the belief that no-one is fundamentally broken. We may all face struggles – some of us profound ones – but we all also have the potential find our way back to a better way of being, and a better relationship with ourselves.
Areas of specialty and special interest:
· Depression, and how this can be a clue to other areas of need.
· Interpersonal difficulties, and our patterns in relationships (including psychosexual issues and couples counselling)
· Sexual abuse and trauma, and its complex effects on people’s lives.
· Existential concerns, particularly concerning meaning and purpose.
I also work with issues to do with kink/BDSM, and alternative/non-traditional relationship styles (including polyamory and non-monogamy), and I am dedicated to practicing in a non-judgmental and intersectional manner, regardless of ethnicity, culture, disability, gender or sexuality. I am sex work positive and am happy to work with clients who work within this field.
I have a particular interest in working with non-monogamous couples or individuals, psychosexual issues, sub-cultures, as well as with non-binary and bisexual clients.
I am a native Swedish speaker and can thus work with clients in Swedish/Norwegian/Danish if this is your preference.
I am also experienced in working with expat/immigrant clients, and issues concerning cultural differences and nomadic living, as well as exploring and understanding psychedelic experiences.
Training, qualifications & experience
I am trained in multiple modalities and therapeutic techniques. My training as a counsellor and psychologist is in Pluralistic Therapy, which is a collaborative approach that integrates different theories and skills, and is guided primarily by the goals and direction of the client, as well as by the current psychotherapeutic evidence base. In other words, we work on what you think is important - in the way that best suits you.
As such, I believe (and the current research evidence supports this) that there is no one right way to do therapy. Rather, what causes positive change is a therapeutic relationship which values and honours the uniqueness of the client, and adapts itself to the client’s needs and wants at that moment in their life.
I have completed a Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology in order to be trained as a Counselling Psychologist. This is a long and intensive programme which has further enhanced my clinical experience and skill. Specifically, it has trained me in-depth in humanistic therapy, psychodynamic therapy, as well as CBT (including third wave approaches).
I have worked with clients with a wide range of needs, including trauma and PTSD, panic and anxiety, depression, suicidal feelings, anger, OCD, experience of sexual assault or rape, divorce and relationship issues, bereavement, chronic health problems, and many others.
I welcome the chance to speak to new clients on the phone to see whether you feel we could work together. This is usually a 15 or 20 minute conversation in which we talk over what you feel you need help with, and you have a chance to find out a bit more about me and how I work.
Qualifications:
· Registered with HCPC (Health & Care Professions Council), Member of BACP (British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy), as well as Graduate Member of BPS (British Psychological Society), and DCoP (Division of Counselling Psychology) Member
- Professional Doctorate in Counselling Psychology - University of Roehampton
- Postgraduate Diploma in Counselling - University of Abertay
- Essential Supervision Skills (BPS Approved Certificate in
- Clinical Supervision)
- COSCA Counselling Skills Certificate - University of Abertay
- BSc (Hons.) Psychology - University of Dundee
Member organisations
Being registered/accredited with a professional body means an individual must have achieved a substantial level of training and experience approved by their member organisation.
The HCPC are an independent, UK-wide health regulator. They set standards of professional training, performance and conduct for 16 professions.
They keep a register of health professionals who meet their standards, and they take action if registered health professionals fall below those standards. They were created by a piece of legislation called the Health Professions Order 2001.
Registration means that a health professional meets national standards for their professional training, performance and conduct.
BACP is one of the UK’s leading professional bodies for counselling and psychotherapy with around 60,000 members. The Association has several different categories of membership, including Student Member, Individual Member, Registered Member MBACP, Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Accred) and Senior Registered Accredited Member MBACP (Snr Acccred).
Registered and accredited members are listed on the BACP Register, which shows that they have demonstrated BACP’s recommended standards for training, proficiency and ethical practice. The BACP Register was the first register of psychological therapists to be accredited by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
Accredited and senior accredited membership are voluntary categories for members who choose to undertake a rigorous application and assessment process to demonstrate additional standards around practice, training and supervision.
Individual members will have completed an appropriate counselling or psychotherapy course and started to practise, but they won’t appear on the BACP Register until they've demonstrated that they meet the standards for registration. Student members are still in the process of completing their training.
All members are bound by the BACP Ethical Framework and a Professional Conduct Procedure.
Accredited register membership
The Accredited Register Scheme was set up in 2013 by the Department of Health (DoH) as a way to recognise organisations that hold voluntary registers which meet certain standards. These standards are set by the Professional Standards Authority (PSA).
This therapist has indicated that they belong to an Accredited Register.
Areas of counselling I deal with
Other areas of counselling I deal with
Cross-cultural issues and difficulties surrounding expat and nomadic living.
Complex trauma and experiences of rape and sexual assault.
Sexuality and relationship concerns, including concerns surrounding kink and BDSM.
Therapies offered
Photos & videos
Fees
£75.00 - £145.00
Free initial telephone session
Concessions offered for
Health Insurance/EAP
Additional information
I offer a free of charge initial phone/Zoom consultation (15-20 minutes), where we can discuss what you would like from therapy, as well as the practicalities of setting up an initial consultation session.
Please contact me to discuss fees further.
I work both with individuals and couples.
I offer concessions and lower rates for those on low-income (subject to availability).
I am registered with AXA Health Insurance as a private practitioner.
I prefer to see clients on a weekly or twice weekly basis, but am also available for more ad hoc work.
Longer sessions can be arranged upon request.
When I work
Normal working hours. Early mornings and evenings. Weekends upon request.
